The Story
An American Indian Youth Literature Award Honoree
In her stunning debut, Cheryl Isaacs (Mohawk) pulls the reader into an unsettling tale of monsters, mystery, and secrets that refuse to stay submerged.
When small-town athlete Avery's morning run leads her to a strange pond in the middle of the forest, she awakens a horror the townspeople of Crook's Falls have long forgotten.
The black water has been waiting. Watching. Hungry for the souls it needs to survive.
Avery can smell the water, see it flooding everywhere; she thinks she's losing her mind. And as the black water haunts Avery--taking a new form each time--people in town begin to go missing.
Though Avery had heard whispers of monsters from her Kanien'kéha: ka (Mohawk) relatives, she has never really connected to her Indigenous culture or understood the stories. But the Elders she has distanced herself from now may have the answers she needs.
When Key, her best friend and longtime crush, is the next to disappear, Avery is faced with a choice: listen to the Kanien'kéha: ka and save the town but lose her friend forever...or listen to her heart and risk everything to get Key back.
An unmissable horror novel for readers who devoured Trang Thanh Tran's She Is a Haunting or Claire Legrand's Sawkill Girls!
Author: Cheryl Isaacs
Publisher: Heartdrum
Published: 05/05/2026
Pages: 352
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.58lbs
Size: 7.95h x 5.44w x 0.82d
ISBN: 9780063287402
Audience: Young Adult
Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 5.1
Point Value: 13
Interest Level: Upper Grade
Quiz #/Name: 557361 / Unfinished
About the Author
Isaacs, Cheryl: -
Cheryl Isaacs can often be found running through the Carolinian forest of southwestern Ontario, where she has fearlessly enjoyed the trails for years. Her Kanyen'kéha culture often appears in her writing. Her first novel was The Unfinished.
Description
An American Indian Youth Literature Award Honoree
In her stunning debut, Cheryl Isaacs (Mohawk) pulls the reader into an unsettling tale of monsters, mystery, and secrets that refuse to stay submerged.
When small-town athlete Avery's morning run leads her to a strange pond in the middle of the forest, she awakens a horror the townspeople of Crook's Falls have long forgotten.
The black water has been waiting. Watching. Hungry for the souls it needs to survive.
Avery can smell the water, see it flooding everywhere; she thinks she's losing her mind. And as the black water haunts Avery--taking a new form each time--people in town begin to go missing.
Though Avery had heard whispers of monsters from her Kanien'kéha: ka (Mohawk) relatives, she has never really connected to her Indigenous culture or understood the stories. But the Elders she has distanced herself from now may have the answers she needs.
When Key, her best friend and longtime crush, is the next to disappear, Avery is faced with a choice: listen to the Kanien'kéha: ka and save the town but lose her friend forever...or listen to her heart and risk everything to get Key back.
An unmissable horror novel for readers who devoured Trang Thanh Tran's She Is a Haunting or Claire Legrand's Sawkill Girls!
Author: Cheryl Isaacs
Publisher: Heartdrum
Published: 05/05/2026
Pages: 352
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.58lbs
Size: 7.95h x 5.44w x 0.82d
ISBN: 9780063287402
Audience: Young Adult
Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 5.1
Point Value: 13
Interest Level: Upper Grade
Quiz #/Name: 557361 / Unfinished
About the Author
Isaacs, Cheryl: -
Cheryl Isaacs can often be found running through the Carolinian forest of southwestern Ontario, where she has fearlessly enjoyed the trails for years. Her Kanyen'kéha culture often appears in her writing. Her first novel was The Unfinished.
